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extended stay in hong kong

i am planning to stay in hong kong for about 2 months. would anyone know of an extended and/or short-term stay suite? thanks much for your time and help. your recommendations/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Will you be there for work or pleasure? It would be more easier to recommend if you were to state which particular area you would like to match your intended activities. Also it would be good to state your budget as there's a wide range available.

I have saved some links on Hong Kong service apartments, which are cheaper than hotels for extended stays. But generally if yoou want some place more central, they would start at about HK$10,000 per month.

Some hotels also have extended stay but even more expensive. 2 years ago when I stayed for a month in HK, I rented the Wesley Hotel in Wan Chai for a month for ~$12000, and that was a very small room, and the hotel was flooded with tourists from Mainland China.

The Hang Lung group which owns the Wesley Hotel has a service apartment called the Bay Bridge in Chuen Wan in the New Territories. The apartment has shuttles that can take you to the subway stations (10 mins ride). Once you're in the subway line you can go to most places.

When you go to the Hang Lung website, find Service Apartment, and then Bay Bridge. All the info is there. Their least expensive unit costs $7500 a month, but that includes all taxes.

The W Studios in the Hong Kong side (I believe it is in Sheun Wan) may be an option. It is certainly closer although not the best area in terms of shopping etc.; but the rent starts at ~HK$6000 for a 200 sq ft room::

thanks for the replies, Johnmango and j_4tay. i was looking into extended stays at hotels as well, specificially the cosmopolitan hotel in wan chai. however, i came across the cosmo hotel as well. has anyone stayed at either of these places before? i came across some negative reviews.

Another service apartment is the Horizon Suite Hotel which starts at ~$7000 per month. Again it is in Ma On Shan in the New Territories. But the website shows a very nice hotel, and probably it give be nice to go back to a more quite place (??) after a day in the city.

One more option I can think of is the Booth Lodge in Yau Ma Tei, just north of the Kowloon Park. It is run by the Salvation Army and their daily rate is about US$50. They may have monthly rate, so send them an email to enquire.

I looked at the Cosmo Hotel - it is not that inexpensive! Their monthly rate is $550/night or $16500/mth.

I also looked at the YWCA. You must know that there are 4 YWCAs in HK. The Gardenview Y is ~$16000/mth, the Anne Black Y is ~$9000/mth, and the other 2 (The Building, and the Lodge) are about the same, about $7000/mth. The Building is in mid-level on Bonham Road close to U of Hong Kong and the Lodge is in a "residential" area called Yau Yet Chuen in Kowloon.

I have been staying a hostel called YESINN for a months half year ago. The room is not big but everything seems very good. They clean the room every day, free hight speed WiFi, very clean and quiet, the room is decorated not long ago, the owner is very kind and helpful, the location is great, 24 hours public transport to access around. I remember my company paid for HK$8900/month for the room. You can visit their web for more detail. www.yesinn.cominfo@yesinn.com

I live in Hong Kong and I know that HK$7,000 a month is not going to get you very much, I hate to say. The room will be very, very small OR pretty small and far out in the New Territories.

I can’t tell if you are a man or a woman, but if you are a woman than my recco would be the Helena May Club which has long-term stay apartments, but only for women. They are in Central right at the base of the Peak Tram in a lovely colonial-era building. Location is good, you can walk the Central, the nice little Hong Kong Park is at your back and there are two grocery stores within walking distance (one uphill though, but you can take a taxi or bus). The whole club including the apartments were redone about two years ago and they did a great job. You could also go to lectures and functions there and get the chance to meet local and expat women. The smaller rooms would be within your budget, this includes breakfast, laundry facilities (but a shared bathroom). Go to http://www.helenamay.com/, click on “room tarriff”. Although the rooms are small, there is a library and reading rooms, a lovely garden and other facilities of the club which are quite homey and may make your small room more bearable.

You should get a copy of The South China Morning Post, which is the main English-language newspaper in Hong Kong and see the listings for flats there. Take a look at their classified ads for flats; this section is especially large on Saturdays and Sundays If you live in a major city, you should be able to buy a copy, or your library may have back issues or can borrow them from another library. You can also look at classified adds on line. Go to their website at classifiedpost.com, scroll to bottom, choose “Property”, a page will come up and you can choose the location such as "Residential – HK Island– To Let" and then “short term flats” or “share flats” or Serviced apartments” . A short term share flat may work well for your budget, this would probably enable you to stay on Hong Kong Island.

Also try this site, which is my realtor, to get an idea of what real estate prices are: http://www.habitat-property.com/. They have a page for temporary housing, these are all above your budget, but will give you an idea of price and size and location, and why HK$7,000 is a very low budget. FYI, in 1992 I lived in Hong Kong for 3 months when I was traveling around Asia and I lived in a 450 square foot flat on Peel Street and it cost HK$10,000 a month then (and was a bargain and the cheapest thing I could find at the time); so $7,000 now really is quite low unless you want to be out in the new towns somewhere in the New Territories. There is nothing wrong with that and it would certainly a very local experience but (i) its quite a commute into Central and (ii) a bit of Cantonese at that point would be quite helpful. Anywhere is safe really so I would not worry about that.

As for the YWCA, the one near Bonham Road certainly looks nice and is within your budget. This is about the same general area as the W, and a bit greener as it is near HK University. Note that 164 square feet is just tiny, tiny (and that’s the biggest room in that category). Don’t bring more than 2 suitcases, as they will fill up the room when you and they are in it. Booth Lodge is not a bad idea. I don’t know the W but the neighborhood is quite interesting and might be fun.

You mention working part time, I assume you have a work permit for this, as even part time work will require you to be sponsored fro a work permit. Technically you are supposed to have it before you arrive in Hong Kong, but most people don’t (I did not on either of my postings here). I would not try to work without one, and would be suspicious of any employer willing to hire you without sponsoring you for one.

I have not stayed in either the Horizon or the Bay Bridge. But personally I think the Horizon Hotel is a bit too far. They say that they have free shuttles going to the Shatin KCR station. But remember that KCR is a railway line (Kowloon-Canton Railway). Once you get to the railway you still have to get to the MRT subway line.

They did say they also have free shuttle to the Diamond Hill MRT station. But they may not have free shuttle running all day. So that means you will have to take a bus or a mini van (which is very popular) to/back your hotel.

For me, the convenience of a hotel in the city is that when I get tired of my shopping, sight seeing etc. I can go back to the hotel for a rest, a nap etc. With a hotel farther away you will have to plan your day, because once you come into town you are "homeless", until you return to the hotel at the end of the day. So for me, if I have to pick a hotel in the New Territories, I would pick the Bay Bridge. At least Chuen Wan is one of the MRT subway stations.

Shatin is certainly well developed, but I wouldn't deem it as a "destination" itself (spend an afternoon, maybe?). I passed through it once when I was in HK 2 years ago: blocks and blocks of residental building. Many so-called residential buildings do have shops on the ground floors and/or lower floors. I believe the main attractions of Sha Tin are the Heritage Museum, the racecourse, and the Ten Thousand Buddhist Temple. Again I would defer any in-depth expert opinion on Sha Tin to other people because I don't know the place very well.

Pypyro, if you live in N. America you must be familiar with the conept of "downtown". The concept is quite different in Asia (and many countries in Europe, I believe). Like in Venice, there is no "downtown" - I'd say Piazza San Marco is "busiest" because it is one of the most famous places in Venice. So is London: I don't think you can say which area in London is considered "downtown".

In Hong Kong, many tourists stay, in the Kowloon side, in Tsim Sha Tsui, and in the island side, around Central district, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay because these places have high concentration of hotels, malls, shops and restaurants (especially the expensive and more famous ones like Celine, Prada, Gucci etc. etc.). But almost everywhere you go (unless you go to small pockets of residential areas), you will find shops, restaurants and malls. So even if you stay in Ma On Shan (where the Horizon Hotel is located), there will be libraries, parks, shops and restaurants to visit, but certainly not in the scale of the popular areas like Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok etc. etc.

Sha Tin is extremely well developed, it’s a town of probably 500,000 to 750,000 people. My only concern for me in your living there is that you may find language an issue in terms of every day things like the grocery store, drycleaner, tailor, etc. This can become tiring after a while (having lived in Switzerland and been grateful to move back to Hong Kong Island where English is widely spoken). Local restaurants most likely will not have English menus nor English-speaking waiters. This is not at all a touristed area, this is a residential area and light industrial area. The Heritage Museum is there and is very good, and you can easily get into the countryside for walks, you can bike around most of Tolo Harbour; but for 2 months on your own you may find it very hard to meet people and to get around if you don’t speak any Cantonese. A small point, but some things like Western foods you are used to may not be available in local grocery stores in this area (i.e. breads, cereals, cheeses and other dairy products).

What is the main purpose of your wanting to spend 2 months in Hong Kong? If you want to learn Cantonese and explore really local areas, than this area is a very good choice, if you are working in Central and want to explore Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, this is not such a good choice IMO.

Also, the Diamond Hill MTR is not on the main subway line into Central, so you are going to have to switch lines. If you are actually going to be working in Central every day or most days, and will be commuting into Central with the rest of the commuters during regular rush hours, this is NOT at all a fun commute, IMO, the trains are just jammed and you may have to wait for a train or two to be emptier. I never take the MTR during rush hours if I need to go someplace that requires subway travel. You could theoretically take a bus into Central or for a good part of the journey, but you will find buses very crowded also during rush hours and may be standing for the journey. In non-rush hours, the MTR and buses are fine, although the journey will take a longer as trains and buses do not run as frequently. I estimate from Central MTR station to Diamond Hill in non-rush hour with changing trains and wait time is probably 45 minutes to an hour.

CarzyParadise V, you do NOT have to be a member of the Helena May to stay there. I am glad you asked that, because I called to double check this and learned that they now take men and that they allow short term accommodation, i.e. a stay of overnight or just a few days. They did not used to do either (they used to have a one-month minimum), which is why I did not used to include this club as a recco for a place for tourists to stay. I will from now on because the location is very good for the price and facilities.

However, they are now currently booked through the end of the year, so this may not work for you or pryopryo – not sure when you trip is. If your trip is some other time and you are interested in the Helena May, you should contact them right away. Men have to stay in the studio apartments, which also limits availability a bit for men.

Thank you, Cicerone! My trip is not till mid- January (for about 2 weeks) so I'll have to discuss it with my parents and decide soon.
I used to live in HK when I was young but didn't have much chance to explore the Hong Kong Island, I was always in N.T. or Kowloon. I'll be traveling alone this time and my parents had wanted me to either stay with relatives (not very convenient IMO) or pick a budget hotel in Kowloon (for easy transportation, as I rely heavily on MTR). Since I'm paying for trip, I have yet to find a hotel in Kowloon that would fit my poor-college-student budget. Your post about Helena May was a savior to me The building looks gorgeous and it's close to a MTR station. Just seems a bit far from the airport when I have a huge piece of luggage to carry around

If you take the Airport Express Train to Hong Kong, a taxi to the Helena May from there would not cost you more than HK$20-25. Even on the Kowloon side with a big suitcase you are going to end up taking a taxi to your hotel I would think, unless you take the airport hotel buses which cost more than the Airport Express and a taxi combined I would think.

thank you again for the detailed replies, Johnmango & Cicerone. i received a reply from the folks at horizon suite hotel and they quoted a monthly package of $20,000 HKD for me. it isn't the amount advertised on the site, so i'm not sure.

i'm also contemplating this serviced apartment in causeway bay: http://www.studiostudio.com.hk. the rates start from $6,500 HKD per month for 180 squared feet room. for a bit more, you can get a 240 squared feet studio. has anyone stayed at this place?

Sorry I can't help you ... surprised that the Horizon costs that much. How did you even get their quote, other than phoning them, because I could not find an email address in their website.

Have you looked into the Bay Bridge? I think the location in Chuen Wan is actually a bit better than Ma On Shan, and I think they also have shuttles to/from the MRT stations. I have rented from Hang Lung group before (the Wesley) and they are reputable.

I know nothing about the Studiostudio. Their website sure looks nice, but there are no location addresses for their studios (they seem to have 3 locations), no email address. Just a "hotline" phone number. They also don't have posted room rates.

If you decide to stay there, please report back because I am going next May and am also looking for accomodation.

Lastly, out of curiosity I sent an email enquiring about the Helen May. They only accept men in their studio units and the studios are booked solid till the end of 2007!!! They also said that their rooms (for women) are almost all solidly booked. They didn't say how early one make a reservation. It appears that you can book more than 12 months ahead.

I have attached their replying email below:

Our studio flats are for both men & women to stay. The daily rate for
Studio flat I & II are HK$450 & HK$520 respectively. FYI, they are all
full until end of next year.

Our single rooms & double rooms (with shared bathroom) are for ladies
only. The daily rate are HK$300 & HK$400. We need to know the date that
you are looking for in order to check the availability. At this moment,
it's almost full.

Oh LOL I knew that the Helena May was popular but did not think it was THAT popular! I won’t recommend it any more here then....it’s worth trying maybe because you never know when they might get a cancellation. Also, women aren’t limited to the studios, so do have more ability to get in to the main building.

As for the studiostudio, I also don’t know it, boy the rooms look small. The location would be better IMO than being out in Sha Tin. I suspect that it is actually a number of individual flats in apartment buildings in the Causeway Bay area that are being rented out as hotel rooms rather then being an actual hotel building. That would explain the various locations. Not that this is illegal or would be a bad thing, but from the pictures, the windows of the rooms look just very much like the blocks of flats you see all over that area and in other places in Hong Kong. It does not look like a new purpose-built hotel building, and there is no photo of a lobby, no mention of a gym, business centre, laundry etc.

The Bay Bridge looks nice and the Tsuen Wan MTR stop is at least on a line that goes directly into Central without changing. I personally would not want to commute in from there every day, but I am not sure if you are planning on doing this. Like Sha Tin, the Castle Peak area is a residential area and industrial area that not touristed for the most part (although there are some great views and an excellent museum in an old walled village), so you may have the same issues as living in Sha Tin.

thanks a bunch for the helpful posts, Johnmango & Cicerone. i searched on the web for reviews of the horizon suite hotel and came across their email address: email@horizonsuitehotel.com. i was a bit surprised by the monthly rates too. i replied and asked about the web-advertised rate, but no response yet.

Cicerone - i agree. i'm guessing the studiostudio suites are just rooms within designated buildings. from the pics on the room, it looks reasonably clean and decent. i received a response from them and the largest room available is 240 squared feet.

thanks for the suggestions re bay bridge. it will be another option for me to check out. i will arrive in HK next and have booked to stay at a hostel while i search for a place. i will definitely report back of my findings.

have you heard of the suites at de victoria? http://www.devictoriahk.com/ would these rooms be similar to those offered by studiostudio, but slightly larger?

I got a second response from Helena May, and want to pass on the information to you, since you seem to be looking after Fodorites' interests in Hong Kong and doing a great job.

Their studio units are on long term leases. That's why they are are fully booked till the end of 2007. When the leases expire, and if someone moves out then there will be vacancies. Still the preference will be given to those signing up for long-term leases. They did not specify what a long term lease is. One year, I would imagine.

As they said "We will only take short term staying if the date required fit the gap between the check in & check out day of other residents".